The present invention relates to a print head and more particularly to an array of multiple stylii drivers each of which employs a novel structural arrangement for converting movement of a piezoelectric ceramic wafer into movement of a printing stylus or needle useful in a printing operation.
The use of piezoelectric elements for driving printing elements is known in the art, as for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 3,418,427. Such prior art devices characteristically utilize the piezoelectric element as a cantilevered bending element wherein the element is restrained at one end and a stylus or print hammer is secured to the other end.
In devices of this type the piezoelectric elements must be long and the driving voltage must be quite high in order to provide sufficient flexure to produce the requisite printing stroke. The resulting structure is heavy, slow in operation and, as a result of the manner in which the piezoelectric elements must be mounted, quite large and bulky.